With the preliminary card concluded, we are now ready to head to FOX and enoy the four-fight main card.

The 8-fight preliminary card delivered plenty of action of note and was the perfect start to a great evening of fights.

Check out our play-by-play recap followed by results below:

Mike Massenzio vs. Karlos Vemola:
The middleweights kicked off a great night of fights in style. After a back and forth first round that saw a good mix of strikes, takedowns and grappling it was an eager and aggressive Massenzio who more than likely walked away with the first frame. Using his striking mixed with grappling he put Vemola on the defensive for the majority of the first frame. The second round opened up much like the first. Massenzio quickly came in with some solid strikes to back Vemola up, but Karlos lit a fire under his butt and charged in with strikes of his own which eventually led to a takedown that Massenzio could not defend. After transitioning on the ground Vemola found a home for a rear-naked-choke and took the fight.

Mike Massenzio via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:07

Roland Delorme vs. Nick Denis:
An amazing fight to end the facebook card and because of its awesomeness these two are already in the running for “Fight of the Night”. In the opening of the first round it seemed as if Denis had it in the bag, mixing strong punches and knees to the face that had Delorme in visible trouble it was Delorme who surged through the initial onslaught to come back, rock Denis with strikes and make him back up. Once Delorme has Denis in trouble the two hit the mat where Delorme transitioned from a half mount to back mount to sink in a fight ending rear-naked-choke with just one-second left in the first round.

Dennis Bermudez vs. Pablo Garza:
In the first fight on the FUEL TV broadcast TUF vet Dennis Bermudez opened up strong with a right hook that closed the distance against Garza and enabled him to clinch and slam Garza to the ground. Over the course of the first Bermudez elevated and slammed Garza on four separate occasions to more than likely earn the points on the cards, but Garza did plenty of damage from his back including a vicious streak of up-kicks that stunned Dennis briefly.

In the second Bermudez went straight for the takedown again, elevated Pablo and slammed him to the ground again. Bermudez kept top position for the first four minutes of the frame and the two kept busy, it was not a boring ground fight. With one-minute left Bermudez stood up and allowed Garza to do the same. The TUF vet rushed in with a flying knee, clinched and again elevated Garza and literally threw him to the mat with another slam. The two toyed on the ground for another 30-seconds and again Dennis let him up and tripped Pablo to the mat one more time at the sound of the bell.

The third round was just like the previous two. Bermudez controlled every second of the action with superior wrestling, slams and takedowns. With one-minute left he was able to pass the guard of Pablo and get into the mount position where he effectively landed ground and pound until Garza gave up his back. Trying to secure a rear-naked-choke until the end of the fight, Bermudez has arrived and easily takes the win over a very tough and prominent featherweight fighter.

Danny Castillo vs. John Cholish:
This fight opened up with a very even first round. Both men used a mixture of striking and wrestling to neutralize the other. It was really a stalemate with neither really pulling away from the other. Takedowns were stuffed on both sides; trips were quickly nullified by both parties as well. Castillo landed the harder shots, but Cholish probably had a slight edge in volume.

The second round opened up a little differently. 30-seconds in and Cholish got a takedown, but Danny was able to pop right back up just a mere 15-seconds later. Midway through the second and it’s pretty even. Safe to say at this point in the fight though, that we aren’t seeing the best Castillo that has stepped in the cage. Cholish is keeping Castillo uncomfortable with footwork and constant movement. With a minute left the crowd starts to boo, and Danny answers with a real powerful one-two combo to the face, but Cholish remained unfazed. Right before the final bell Danny ducks under an advancing John’s punches to get a clinch, elevate and slam Cholish to the mat. The bell sounded and the two went back to their corner.

That last exchange in the second seems to have motivated Castillo because he came out like a bat out of hell. At this point he seems to have found his groove. 30-seconds in and he grabs a double, elevates Cholish over his head and slams him to the ground. The two scramble on the ground, but Danny is able to stay top heavy and keep his opponent on his back. Two-minutes in and Cholish works his way back up but the constant pressure of Castillo is hard for him to deal with. The two carryout the majority of the remaining minutes on the feel but with 20-seconds left Cholish lunges in for a leg in a desperate attempt for a submission but Castillo easily fends it off and the bell sounds to signal the end of the match.

Louis Gaudinot vs. John Lineker:
In the fifth fight of the night the UFC’s flyweights took center stage. These two wasted no time getting things started. The stood in the pocket for the first 45-seconds and did nothing but trade blow for blow, unreal entertaining. Lineker is the aggressor and seems to be a bit more technical on the feet, but Louis is hanging in there and using effective counter strikes to stay in the fight. With 1.5 minutes left Gaudinot had had enough of the striking and easily takes the fight to the ground. Outside of a brief heel hook attempt by Lineker Gaudinot maintained control on the ground and that may have earned him the points in the frame.

The second round opens up much like the first. The two swing “fast and furiously” but Lineker is definitely edging the stand-up battle. With two minutes left Louis again easily takes the fight to the ground and takes top position. With 20-seconds left the two get up, but not before Louis grabs the neck of his opponent and commits to the choke, and succeeds in choking out Lineker unconscious.

John Hathaway vs. Pascal Krauss:
This fight opened up with the two fighters feeling each other out on the feet. Hathaway threw a lot of lead elbows but neither really edged out the other while standing. That is until around the two-minute mark when the Brit landed a big knee to the face of Krauss and dropped him. It looked like it might be over but Hathaway wasn’t able to seal the deal and with a minute and a half left the two stood back up to engage in the stand-up battle. One-minute left and Krauss grabs a body lock and takes Hathaway down right in the center of the cage. He doesn’t mount much offense from top position but the two ended the round on the mat.

The second round opens up with the two dancing around each other. Thirty seconds in and John takes Krauss down to the floor and starts grinding him while in the guard. From top position Hathaway is able to effectively land short elbows and punches but no real notable damage is being inflicted. With two-minutes left Krauss is able to get the fight back to his feet and the two restart in the center of the cage. The round ends with the two exchanges strikes at a mild pace.

In the third round the two again open up with trading shots on the feet, but it’s even. 1.5 minutes into the final frame and Hathaway shoots in for a takedown, grabs a high crotch, elevates Krauss and puts him on the mat. After landing some effective strikes from top position John lets his opponent up at the midway point of the round. With thirty seconds left in the final round John lands a big knee to the face that explodes the nose of Krauss and blood was everywhere. The knee hurt Krauss, but he refused to go down and a confident Hathaway continued to march his man down and throw strikes until the final bell rang.

John Dodson vs. Tim Elliott:
The featherweights took center stage again in this fight and the pace is so high, it’s kind of hard to recap. It was a striking match, but a very creative one. Flying kicks, flying knees and punches made up some of the action. Elliot employed a very aggressive gameplan against The Ultimate Fighter winner and constantly backed Dodson up. At the 45-second mark Dodson poked his opponent in the eye and as a result the doctors came in but let the fight continue. Once the clock started ticking again the two fighters used the remaining time on the clock to slug it out and complete the round.

Elliot enters into the second round and is unable to open his eye from the first round poke but he fights on anyways. The second round is nothing but strikes and it’s hard to determine a clear front runner at this point in the fight. With 45-seconds left Dodson punches Elliot in the crotch and the action is halted. When the two resume Dodson grabbed ahold of Elliot and slammed him to the ground mat but Elliot instantly popped back up and the two ended the second on the feet exchanging.

Between rounds Dodson complained to his corner that his left hand is hurt and three minutes into the round he had yet to commit to a punch with the injured fist. The result is that Dodson is almost refusing to engage and instead just using head movement and footwork to stay out of the way of the constantly pressuring Elliot’s attacks. Elliot started to take advantage of the inactive Dodson and landed more and more frequently until the final bell sounded and probably took the last round of action.

Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Johnson:
The final fight on the preliminary card opened up at a very slow pace. Infact, it took a minute for the first real punch to be thrown and it came from Johnson but failed to land. After that initial icebreaker the two started throwing at a more frequent pace and the action was pretty even two minutes in. Midway through the round Johnson landed a left and dropped Ferguson but Tony got right back up unfazed. The two continued to strike until the end of the frame, Tony started to find his range towards the end but the round was easily Johnsons.

Second round was almost a mirror image of the first. It was a close round, but one solid left from Johnson that stunned Ferguson probably made the difference on the cards and gave him the round yet again. Outside of the one left no significant action to speak of and the crowd is becoming restless.

In the third it was again close, but in the last 40 seconds of the round Johnson really turned it on and started landing at a higher rate. He stole the show and Ferguson had no answer for the speed and footwork of Johnson all night.

About BJPENN.com

Shouted out after victory to the UFC masses, BJPENN.COM is the home to multiple time champion BJ Penn. After a decade of on-line operation BJPENN.COM has evolved into the most reliable destination for all your fighter interviews, fighter blogs and MMA/UFC news stories.